The present invention relates to a sliding table for a press, in particular for a heavy parts transfer press.
Heavy parts transfer presses and other presses are often set up for production of different workpieces by changing die molds. A typical example is heavy parts transfer presses such as body presses for motor vehicles. Such presses are known as press installations and have sliding tables to accommodate the lower die during operation. For changing dies, the upper die is placed on the lower die and the sliding table moves this die unit laterally out of the press installation. Such die changing must be performed relatively frequently, because different sheet metal parts belonging to a vehicle body as well as sheet metal parts for different bodies are usually manufactured with a heavy parts transfer press.
For adaptation, however, it is necessary to change not only the die but also the so-called tooling. This includes apparatus for resetting the sheet metal parts in the transfer press, causing the sheet metal parts to be conveyed through the press installation. Such apparatus include, for example, lead frames which are mounted on so-called crossbars. They belong to a workpiece transfer device which has one to two crossbars for each press stage, i.e., for each die, depending on whether or not there are any intermediate places of deposit. When changing dies, the crossbars are also removed from the press installation. To do so, it is known that the crossbars can be placed on the sliding table together with the die-specific lead frames, so that the die with the respective tooling is moved out of the press.
In some cases, for example, the die must be removed from the sliding table to be replaced by another. Therefore, it is released from the sliding table and raised by a crane. This requires lateral access to the dies. If the tooling is also deposited on the sliding table, it is right next to the sliding table on the side, however, and is thus in the way. There is the risk of damage to the tooling. In addition, access to the die is difficult.